E20 turned into 420: Rahul Gandhi targets government over ethanol-blended petrol, claims excess ethanol
PTC News Desk: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has accused major oil companies of selling petrol with ethanol content above the prescribed 20 per cent limit. He made the allegations while referring to laboratory tests of fuel samples collected from seven districts in Karnataka.
In a post on X on Saturday, Gandhi said that 11 out of 14 samples tested at an accredited laboratory were found to contain more than 20 per cent ethanol. Criticising the Centre's ethanol-blending programme, he said, "E20 turned into 420 - stealing petrol from the public's cars!" He accused both government-owned and private oil companies of exceeding the permitted limit and raised questions about the transparency of their testing procedures.
According to the test results cited by Gandhi, samples from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) contained 31.2 per cent and 30.5 per cent ethanol, respectively.
The samples were collected from seven Karnataka districts: Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru.
Gandhi also named Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Nayara Energy and Shell among the companies whose fuel samples were tested. He claimed that the companies' in-house laboratories had not disclosed the ethanol content in the samples.
Oil companies dispute Karnataka's test findings
The allegations come amid a dispute between the Karnataka government and oil marketing companies over the ethanol content in petrol being sold across the state.
Karnataka Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rizwan Arshad had earlier said that tests conducted by the NABL-accredited and ISO-certified Shriram Research Institute in Bengaluru found ethanol levels above the permitted 20 per cent limit in several petrol samples.
The state government said the samples were first sent to the in-house laboratories of IOCL and BPCL. However, the reports did not mention the ethanol content, following which the government decided to get the samples tested independently.
Companies respond to allegations
The three public sector oil companies — IOCL, BPCL and HPCL — have rejected Karnataka's findings of excessive ethanol blending. They said the allegations were not supported by tests conducted according to the prescribed procedures.
In a joint statement, the companies said that E20 petrol supplied across the country, including Karnataka, meets the Bureau of Indian Standards' specification IS 17021.
They also raised questions about the sampling process followed during the October 2026 exercise. According to the companies, their representatives were not involved in collecting the samples. They also said they had not received retained samples, details of individual fuel outlets or complete laboratory reports.
The companies questioned the third-party laboratory certificates referred to by the Karnataka government, saying they did not contain technical details about the testing methods used to check ethanol levels. They said the reported findings could not be independently verified without the required documents and samples.
The oil marketing companies also rejected estimates of Rs 62,000 crore in annual mileage losses and Rs 39,000 crore in vehicle repair costs. They said these figures needed proper scientific and technical evidence.
The companies have asked the state government to share complete sampling records and provide access to corresponding fuel samples. They want these samples to be tested independently at an authorised laboratory in the presence of state government representatives.
- PTC NEWS
